As Apple prepares to bring its wildly successful App Store phenomenon from iOS to the Mac, Amazon is launching its own Android app store while LG and others open TV apps stores, even as existing ones, including the Chrome Web Store, flounder.

It's been nearly three years since Apple opened its original iPhone App Store to resounding success. Since then, the company has constantly refined its App Store policies and practices in anticipation or reaction of users' and developers' expectations, expanding to include iPad apps last year, and tomorrow extending to Mac apps.

Every other smartphone platform has worked diligently to copy Apple's success, in many cases radically revamping their existing stores to pattern them after Apple's. Nokia's Ovi market for Symbian devices, BlackBerry's App World, and Google's Android Market have worked hard to copy the App Store, but without nearly as much success.

Palm and Microsoft were both induced to scuttle their existing mobile platforms and create entirely new ones with app stores closely modeled after Apple's, the Palm webOS and new Windows Phone 7 app stores), while new platforms, including Samsung's Bada, have similarly opened new mobile software markets.

Attracting enough attention from both developers and users to all of these new stores is difficult. While every store offers the basics like Twitter and Facebook and a handful of the most popular games, in order to stand out, new app stores need to deliver fresh apps on a regular basis. Doing this at the same rate as Apple is proving to be a tremendous challenge for vendors of new and revamped mobile platforms.

An Amazon app store for Android

One of the biggest problems for Google's Android platform is that there's no great app store; there are several options, with Google's own Android Market being the most prominent.

However, developers—including DoubleTwist, which serves as Android's biggest supporter in terms of making Android apps easy to use and buy—are critical of Google's hands off approach, noting that Android Market is overrun with intellectual property ripoffs and fake junk posing as legitimate apps. Malware is also a problem, not just for the official store but also for alternative Android apps stores.

Amazon hopes to solve this problem by taking over Google's role as the main retailer of Android's apps. The company's new Amazon app market, scheduled to open sometime "later this year," will attempt to be closer to Apple's App Store experience, offering a curated experience that hopes to prevent the Android catalog from being lost in a sea of knockoff junkware.

Amazon's fire sale policy

Amazon's retail prowess certainly positions it as one of the best hopes for a good Android app store. However, Android is adding some of its own quirks into its new store model. That includes reserving the right to deeply discount developer's titles at its own whim, part of Amazon's developer agreement in sections 5.g and 5.i.

The company will allow developers to set a list price, which Amazon will then slash as it deems necessary to drive sales. As with Apple's App Store, Amazon's developers will get a similar 70 percent share of the proceeds, although in Amazon's store, those proceeds may only amount to 20 percent of the list price if Amazon chooses to put their apps in its bargain bin. Apple allows developers to set and change their own app prices as they wish.

Amazon's "we will price your apps" approach may drive sales volumes, but it also opens up a new can of worms for some developers. While neither Google nor Amazon demand that the apps they carry be exclusive to their app stores, Amazon's developer agreement section 3.a stipulates that developers must make available to Amazon all the apps they sell on any other market (including Google's Android Market or third party market).

However, other markets stipulate that developers can't list their apps on other stores for cheaper. Because Amazon is taking price control and store listing choice away from developers, they're now stuck in a conundrum of being unable to sell their apps across multiple stores without running afoul of the rules of each.

Of course the author of this post needs to make an excuse as to why the Safari Extension Gallery hasn't been popular. Yet he slams the other ones. It's true that it hasn't been advertised, but neither have the other ones! It's such a double standard.

Of course the author of this post needs to make an excuse as to why the Safari Extension Gallery hasn't been popular. Yet he slams the other ones. It's true that it hasn't, but it's such a double standard.

Why would you making an erroneous comparison be funny? Apple isn't trying to push the extension gallery in the same way it pushes the app store. On the other hand Google Chrome depends on their extension gallery being a success. It's 'Apples and Googles' to bend a well known saying. Should I laugh now?

p.s. Any developer out there working on an instant Troll blocker extension yet?

I like the LG TV apps. Can we expect an AppleTV App Store and SDK to be demoed later this year? I sure hope so.

You have to believe ATV apps are coming. Not heard anything though regarding developer SDK yet, you'd think that would be here now or close. I assume any iOS or OS X product could be a control device for such apps. Any thoughts on that aspect?

However, developers--including DoubleTwist, which serves as Android's biggest supporter in terms of making Android apps easy to use and buy--are critical of Google's hands off approach, noting that Android Market is overrun with intellectual property ripoffs and fake junk posing as legitimate apps. Malware is also a problem, not just for the official store but also for alternative Android apps stores.

The whiners, critics, phandroids, and <insert troll members here> have all ripped on Apple for trying to "control" what goes into the app store.

This is exactly what happens when no one is watching the store. As far as I'm concerned, those folks got what they asked for. I say leave the Android marketplace as the giant pile of steaming droppings it is and continue on with a cleaner, more effective Apple app store.

Reminds me of a scene from "Robocop" when the police force goes on strike and the entire city goes to ruins.

I knew it would be a DED article just by the title. Which is always a must read.
And I agree that all the other players will find it difficult to replicate Apples success for the reasons stated.
However I had to laugh at the line

Quote:

"In fact, Amazon may eventually begin selling Mac apps within its own store alongside Android, much as it has entered into the ebooks market, selling titles in parallel with Apple's iBooks and Google's new Books market."

I know what he meant but it makes it sound as though Amazon only got into selling eBooks after Apple and Google started doing it.

The whiners, critics, phandroids, and <insert troll members here> have all ripped on Apple for trying to "control" what goes into the app store.

This is exactly what happens when no one is watching the store. As far as I'm concerned, those folks got what they asked for. I say leave the Android marketplace as the giant pile of steaming droppings it is and continue on with a cleaner, more effective Apple app store.

Reminds me of a scene from "Robocop" when the police force goes on strike and the entire city goes to ruins.

Exactly right. The only ones whining I suspect are the ones either wanting to do nefarious things or are simply jealous of the success of Apple for some strange reason and will say anything negative they can about anything related to Apple.

I knew it would be a DED article just by the title. Which is always a must read.
And I agree that all the other players will find it difficult to replicate Apples success for the reasons stated.
However I had to laugh at the line

I know what he meant but it makes it sound as though Amazon only got into selling eBooks after Apple and Google started doing it.

I wish Mac addresses could be used to spot those with multiple accounts. Just saying ...

You have to believe ATV apps are coming. Not heard anything though regarding developer SDK yet, you'd think that would be here now or close. I assume any iOS or OS X product could be a control device for such apps. Any thoughts on that aspect?

Here is my basic outline of what this could offer Apple by leveraging their strengths:
AppleTV App Store solidifies users on a single, longterm media extender appliance (MEA). IOW, you're less likely to switch systems if you have invested in apps.

AppleTV App Store with SDK allows Apple to do the unthinkable with Home Entertainment System (HES) device. It allows them to do systematic HW updates that users will pay for to get the latest features. For example, games being smoother on new AppleTV HW or games designed to take advantage of newer AppleTV HW. I don't think this would be best on a 1 year cycle like other iOS-based products, but 18-24 months seems feasible to me for a $99 media extender.

I wish Mac addresses could be used to spot those with multiple accounts. Just saying ...

MAC addresses are not broadcast in the http protocol. The moderators can see IP addresses shared by multiple users although not a foolproof way to identify a single person with multiple accounts. Of course having multiple accounts is not against the rules until one of them gets banned.

If the moderators get complaints about a certain user they may make an effort to identify the other accounts and if the attitude and writing style are similar enough to a previously banned user on the same IP, they probably would take the appropriate action.